Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. is engaged in co-operating over 30 health and wellness centers for large employers across Florida. In addition to medical care, centers offer free pharmacy services with generic prescriptions available for employees, dependents, and retirees. Employers pay low-cost wholesale rates on prescription drugs, which drastically reduce expenses for the employers. Patients benefit by conveniently walking away from appointments with free or low-priced medicine.

“Employers need innovative solutions because Americans are wasting millions annually on price gouging, clawbacks, and other forms of prescription drug overcharging,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, which specializes in decreasing employer healthcare costs through customized onsite-healthcare models.

In addition to improving access to quality care, Crowne’s experts stay focused on helping employers combat the rising costs of specialty pharmacy drugs through drug-spending evaluations and cost-containment programs. Spending control is vital according to a study released in March by University of Southern California – Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, which found customers overpaid for prescriptions 23 percent of the time. Reports reference “clawbacks” as when customers unreasonably pay prescription copays that are higher than a drug’s actual cost.

About Crowne Consulting Group: Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, provides administrative oversight services for worksite health and wellness centers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne serves public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, sheriff offices, as well as private organizations. Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

Crowne’s benefits planning experts have spent years touting the rewards of preventive medicine through the operation of onsite and near-site health and wellness centers. A growing number of large and small employers agree the onsite-care model uniquely positions them to incentivize plan members to participate in life-saving biometric health screenings, health risk assessments, and reward-based wellness programs including smoking cessation, exercise, nutrition, and disease management.

“Free lab work and primary care coupled with incentives for medical action far surpass the outdated standards of wellness programs triggered by large claims,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group. “Onsite care and proactive programs achieve success by saving employers millions of dollars in medical costs – while also saving countless lives.”

According to a study discussed in the September AEM Journal from the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, patients with limited health literacy were twice as likely to have preventable emergency department visits resulting in a hospital admission. Employers are recognizing costly health-literacy issues and are taking action through wellness initiatives.

The 2017 Employer Health Benefits Survey by Kaiser Family Foundation reports 58 percent of small firms and 85 percent of large firms offer at least one key wellness program. Additionally, 38 percent of small firms and 62 percent of large firms offer workers health risk assessments. Notable incentives for participation include gift cards, merchandise, and financial rewards such as payroll-fee avoidance or lower premiums.

About Crowne Consulting Group:Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, provides administrative oversight services for worksite health and wellness centers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne serves public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, sheriff offices, as well as private organizations. Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

While Crowne’s solutions have supported corporations, school districts, sheriff’s offices, and municipalities spanning Florida, the self-funding trend is spreading nationwide. Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, published a July report on trends in self-insured health plans between 1996 and 2015. A rise from 28.5 to 39 percent was reported for private employers offering self-funded plans.

For decades, a majority of large employers and government agencies have benefited from self-funded plans, but EBRI’s report notes an increasing percentage of small and mid-sized businesses self-funding. Additionally, October’s Market Realities report by Willis Towers Watson forecasts lower rate increases for self-insured plans compared to fully insured plans in 2017.

“Whether a decision to self-fund is for lowering insurance expenses or for managing government provisions, employers are achieving greater control of costs,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, which is aligned with partners offering special programs with rate-caps from one of the nation’s largest stop-loss carriers for those risks who qualify. “Reinsurance or external insurance for catastrophic events is essential in managing long-term risk and avoiding losses through high-cost claims.”

Crowne and its partners are also helping self-funded employers mitigate risks and lower expenses through the operation of onsite and near-site health and wellness centers. In contrast to the typically expensive fee-for-service model of filing insurance claims, a self-funded employer can launch an onsite-care model and pay significantly less for medical services for employees, retirees, and their dependents. No-cost primary and chronic care, screenings, x-rays, wellness programs, and onsite pharmacies are among the benefits to patients of worksite healthcare.

About Crowne Consulting Group:Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, provides administrative oversight services for worksite health and wellness centers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne serves public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, sheriff offices, as well as private organizations. Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

Employers are Self-Funding to Find Savings in Healthcare

Sept. 23, 2015 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Various provisions of the Affordable Care Act have swayed employers to opt for self-funding in order to achieve the greatest return from their healthcare investments.

In response to the growing demand for risk management coupled with self-funded plans, the benefits experts at Crowne Consulting Group have launched an affiliate onsite healthcare company, Medical Risk Solutions (www.medicalrisksolutions.com).

Medical Risk Solutions specializes in helping employers to strategically transition from fully insured to self-funded or partially self-funded through its Guaranteed Program with a rate-cap for at least three years.

“Our clients leverage the power of partnerships with one of the nation’s largest stop-loss carriers, providing reinsurance with a guaranteed rate cap,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of both Crowne Consulting Group and Medical Risk Solutions. “Also, in conjunction with trusted medical partnerships, we remain positioned to help employers implement employee health and wellness centers for reducing the cost of healthcare claims under the more expensive fee-for-service model.”

As a positive, self-insured plans are exempt from medical-loss-ratio requirements and aren’t subject to risk-adjustment. Onsite healthcare for employees attracts self-funded groups because visits are paid directly by the employer. No claim is filed. Group health insurance typically is conducted in a fee-for-services model. The more physician services, the higher the bill. With an onsite center, however, the employer controls spending by paying a flat fee and costs without mark-up.

About Crowne Consulting Group, Inc: Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne’s experts have experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, sheriff offices, as well as private organizations. Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

Accessibility Churns Success

Employers are making healthcare more effective by offering medical services at or nearby the worksite. By handling all administration and operations, onsite care experts can help shift attention from disease management to disease prevention. Over 30 employee health and wellness centers in Florida are drastically reducing health costs through the help of Crowne Consulting Group, Inc. and medical partnerships.

Onsite care extends benefits of free office visits, screenings, and increased physician face-time for employees. Employers can stick with their current healthcare plan and benefits provider. The only difference is that the employees now have the option to handle medical appointments and wellness visits at the worksite rather than at more costly outside providers.

“Costs for operating an onsite health center can be 60 percent less than paying for a fee-for-service model,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group. “And it’s not just employers seeing the savings – the employees are also reaping the benefits through the increased accessibility to care.”

Utilization proves to be high because employee health centers offer on-demand medical service for employees, their dependents, and the retiree population for no out-of-pocket costs.

With a free and reliable health center nearby, employees are more likely to keep chronic issues, such as hypertension and diabetes, in check.

Workers are equipped to take better care of themselves, while also taking less time off and requiring fewer serious medical procedures.

Employers can experience additional savings and services when the workers’ compensation program is integrated with an onsite-health-center model. One Florida school district slashed their Worker’s Compensation costs by 50 percent in one year. Crowne and their medical partners have also teamed with top-rated firms to bring insurance products and management services for fully-insured and self-insured school districts.

When considering onsite care, it’s important to ask the right questions to ensure your operators are able to meet and exceed your needs for lowering health costs while making quality care more accessible to your employees. With expertise in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations – Crowne specializes in making healthcare more accessible and more affordable.

Crowne Consulting Group was recently featured in American City & County Magazine for its expertise for serving governments and municipalities. See the excerpt below and visit the magazine link to read this entire article.

Bankrolling benefits

Excerpt:“…Regardless of the number of employees affected, the ACA has created numerous challenges for Human Resources departments – especially those with constrained budgets. Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, an organization helping business and governments set up health clinics, says in this way, local governments are no different than their private sector counterparts. “[Because of the ACA,] employers are experiencing additional oversight, restrictions and costs,” he says. From a local government standpoint, there is now less management discretion at designing benefits packages that would help keep costs low, Tomlinson says.

However, municipalities are increasingly looking to an outside-the-box solution, Tomlinson says, opening onsite or near-site health clinics. These facilities cut down on costs by lowering the number of claims made by covered employees and thus lowering expenses across the board.

“The Affordable Care Act has actually created – even if unintentionally – an opportunity for employers to take a look at the onsite or near-site clinic or heath center as an option to run alongside of their health plan,” says Tomlinson.

Several municipalities have opened health clinics in the past few years, including ….”

Land O’ Lakes, FL – (January 23, 2015) – As the nation recognizes American Heart Month this February, the District School Board of Pasco County is celebrating news that it earned the Platinum Fit-Friendly Worksite Award from the American Heart Association for demonstrating a strong commitment to providing a healthy workplace.

“Physical activity and employee wellness are important priorities for us at the district, so we are honored and excited to be recognized by the American Heart Association,” said Superintendent Kurt Browning.

The Fit-Friendly Worksites program is a catalyst for positive change in making employees’ health and wellness a priority. Qualifications for the platinum-level include:

• Offering employees physical activity options in the workplace.

• Increasing healthy eating options at the worksite.

• Promoting a wellness culture in the workplace.

• Implementing at least nine criteria outlined by the American Heart Association in the areas of physical activity, nutrition and culture.

• Demonstrating measurable outcomes related to workplace wellness.

“We’re committed to providing the best workplace environment possible. This will benefit our employees’ health and produce even more positive results for our worksite overall,” said School Board Member Cynthia Armstrong, who represents the board on the district’s Employee Wellness Committee.

Pasco County schools also took an innovative approach to cut costs while enhancing healthcare for its more than 10,000 members by offering onsite care for employees, retirees and dependents.

“Employees, retirees and dependents visiting the onsite health and wellness centers enjoy free and convenient access to primary medical, screenings, lab work, X-rays, EKG, occupational health, wellness programs, disease management, and generic prescriptions,” said Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group, which collaborates with CareHere Crowne LLC to operate more than 30 health and wellness centers throughout Florida, including five centers for Pasco County schools.

Ocoee-based Crowne Consulting Group’s management of the district’s CareHere health centers, in combination with Tampa-based Med-Vision’s health-data analytics for wellness planning, have proved valuable in helping the district’s wellness committee create results-driven programs. For example, the district’s incentive program rewards employees who complete a health-risk assessment, follow-up with a health coach, and complete a questionnaire. If an employee completes these three sections, he or she is awarded $150. Employees can earn up to $100 in additional incentive awards for completing a program on CareHere Connect, an online wellness portal, or attending three out of four onsite-wellness sessions.

These incentives resulted in approximately $14 Million in savings over the past three years. These achievements were highlighted in the December 2014 issue of District Administration Magazine, and have earned the district several local, state, and national awards in addition to the current honor from the American Heart Association.

About The District School Board of Pasco County: Pasco County Schools is the 11th largest school district in Florida and the 50th largest in the nation, with more than 69,000 students and nearly 11,000 employees. The district includes 45 elementary schools, 16 middle schools, 13 high schools, four centers, nine charter schools, and a robust eschool. Pasco is led by an elected superintendent and five elected school board members, who administer a $1.2 billion annual budget. More than 93 percent of the general fund resources are committed to teaching and other school-level programs such as transportation, counseling, psychological services, school administration, and operations & maintenance.

About Crowne Consulting Group, Inc:Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm, specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne’s experts have experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations. Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

About the American Heart Association:The American Heart Association is devoted to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Our mission drives everything we do. To improve the lives of all Americans, we provide public health education in a variety of ways. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke.

City of Leesburg’s Employee Wellness Center, operated by Crowne Consulting Group
and CareHere, has had high utilization of medical services and has decreased
employee healthcare costs.Crowne-Leesburg Press Release-11-14-13

Nov. 14, 2013 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Crowne Consulting Group, an employee benefits consulting firm specializing in onsite health and wellness centers in Florida, reports that the City of Leesburg has saved millions of dollars by adding a worksite health center for employees, retirees, and dependents covered under its healthcare plan.

The City of Leesburg’s Employee Wellness Center saved the city $1.3 million within the first year of opening in January 2011. The trend continued in 2012 with $459,000 in savings, and this year pushing $600,000 saved dollars back into the general fund.

Dann Herrin, Leesburg’s Assistant Director, Human Services, says these savings will increase because the city has recently added workers’ compensation, triage, and occupational health services through the employee wellness center, which is co-operated by Crowne Consulting Group and Tennessee-based CareHere, LLC.

“I think CareHere’s onsite care model has been outstanding, and the Crowne folks have been a wonderful resource – they’re always there when we need them,” said Herrin. “At first, I was skeptical if our employees would switch doctors and use the center, but the medical service providers were outstanding at keeping employees very comfortable.”

Approximately 86 percent of the city’s 1100 eligible members eagerly visited the center in the first year for primary care, screenings, and chronic disease management. A reputation of quality service and no out-of-pocket costs drove utilization up to 96 percent this year.

“It’s a win-win-win,” added Herrin. “Taxpayers save money, the city can reallocate savings for more resources, and the employees see outstanding financial savings while easily accessing care.”

About Crowne Consulting Group, Inc:
Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm, specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne’s experts have experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations. Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

Quality Makes the Difference:Accessibility and Service Quality are Keys to Onsite Care

Health cost trends continue to skyrocket at a national rate due to chronic disease. Failure to conduct health screenings and delaying to seek help for minor health issues can escalate to serious conditions resulting in expensive health claims. When quality care is easily accessible, however, health costs can rapidly decrease.

Early detection, prompt treatment, and consistent follow-ups are key components of the onsite healthcare model. By supplying onsite or nearby medical care for employees, employers are mitigating risks and cutting costs, all while increasing employee benefits. In addition to a healthier bottom line, this translates to improved productivity and fewer sick days with less time away for physician appointments.

The Crowne Consulting Group and its partner, CareHere LLC, have created a cost-saving model for self-funded employers, extending benefits of free office visits, screenings, and increased physician face-time. When considering onsite care, it’s important to ask the right questions to ensure your operators are able to meet and exceed your needs for lowering health costs while enhancing care.

1) Will the employees have easy access to the health center? In addition to building the center at the worksite or a nearby location, availability is essential. The CareHere-Crowne model allows employees to simply call a toll-free number or go on-line to schedule an appointment. Patients are typically in front of a doctor before the end of the workday.

2) Will the employees be able to fill prescriptions via the health center?Through CareHere, employers pay wholesale costs for prescription drugs, which have helped employers save millions of dollars. Importantly, patients appreciate that they can conveniently walk away from the appointment with a free or low-priced prescription in about an hour.

3) Will the range of services meet the employee’s medical needs?
Without having to leave the worksite, employees may seek treatment for acute conditions such as a cold or infection, in addition to chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. The full list of services typically includes primary and family care, occupational services, workers’ compensation matters, x-rays, pharmacy, disease management, and wellness services.

4) Will there be incentives for employees to utilize the center?Visits to the health centers are voluntary, but incentives for employees to use them include zero co-pays and no deductibles. CareHere and Crowne Consulting Group also take a client-centric approach to boost success. Among the list of perks are a grand opening to announce and promote awareness for the new center, reward-based programs with prizes to increase utilization, and employee incentives tied to wellness programs and health risk assessments for identifying risks early and controlling costs.
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When considering the launch of any healthcare service, experience is most important. Crowne Consulting Group’s team has expertise in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations. Crowne’s team strategically collaborates with CareHere LLC to help employers hire medical staff and operate health centers. CareHere operates more than 100 health centers nationwide, specializing in providing onsite healthcare through employers by making healthcare easier, better and more affordable.

GOVERNMENT LEADERS ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA GATHER FOR CROWNE’S SUMMIT ON INNOVATIONS FOR ONSITE HEALTHCARE

Cities and school districts met with Crowne Consulting Group for a Summit on Jan. 15 to assess the growing number of employee health and wellness centers.

Jan. 23, 2013 (Ocoee, Fla.) – Central Florida has become a hub of innovation in employee healthcare. Since 2008, onsite employee health and wellness centers have been popping up across Florida and pushing down employer healthcare costs.
Last Tuesday, government representatives met to discuss the benefits they’ve reaped from implementing onsite care centers. They also formed strategies to enhance care by sharing healthcare center access with neighboring municipalities.

Attendees of the 1st Annual Crowne Summit included, the School District of Lake County, City of DeLand, City of Kissimmee, City of Leesburg, City of Lake Mary, City of Mount Dora, City of Ocala, City of Ocoee, City of Oviedo, and City of Sanford. All entities are working with Crowne Consulting Group and CareHere to manage onsite employee health and wellness centers.

All centers are staffed by a physician and other supporting medical staff. In addition to providing primary care, chronic disease management and medication, the centers also focus on providing health risk assessments (HRAs), which is a short health examination with blood draw to assess a patient’s risk for diseases and conditions.

“We’ve saved over $3M since opening our health center,” said Robert Frank, City Manager for Ocoee, which is approaching its five-year anniversary for onsite care for its 350 employees.

Jerry Boop, Finance Director for the City of Oviedo, spoke of similar results. “Crowne has left their footprint on our organization. The City’s healthcare costs are down significantly and are currently trending around 3 percent. We all know that’s a huge accomplishment.”

And they’re not alone. The City of Ocala’s team thanked Crowne for helping them to improve efficiency in a tough economy. The center is one of “our crown jewels,” according to Catherine Cameron, Assistant City Manager. The City saved enough money to go from fully-insured in 2009 to being self-insured within a year of opening its doors.

“Prior to opening the clinics, our premium increases were trending around 10 percent annually. Since we put in the clinics, we’ve been able to keep that down consistently to just 2 percent,” said Jared Sorensen, Director of Human Resources and Risk Management for Ocala.

“We also utilized CareHere’s wellness program last year and tied an incentive program to our premiums so that those completing HRAs and following up with doctor care benefited from lesser premiums. This has provided great success in identifying risks and controlling costs.”

Mark Hayward, Human Resources Director for the City of DeLand, says they’ve seen a $145,000 drop in combined workers’ compensation and medical costs since opening in November of 2010. DeLand also struck a deal with the local hospital to allow employees easier access to specialized medical care.

Collaboration was a running theme at the summit, as most entities remarked that they were open to discussing the idea of access sharing, which would allow their employees an opportunity to visit nearby CareHere health centers operating under neighboring counties and cities.

A partnership example is the City of Ocoee sharing with the City of Apopka to extend the convenience of easy access for employees living in different areas. The Cities of Mount Dora and Leesburg also have an access-sharing agreement for their onsite health centers.

In addition to multi-entity sharing, some have gone the route of opening more than one location, such is the case with Lake Schools, which is in the process of opening their third onsite health center this year for its more than 5,000 employees, dependents, and retirees.

“The centers have been a great success and employees are asking for more locations. Plus, we didn’t have to raise healthcare premiums on our employees this year,” said Carol MacLeod, Chief Financial Officer for Lake Schools, which began working with Crowne and CareHere in 2011.

Attendees of the summit took notes while listening to these exciting results. The Cities of Lake Mary and Sanford, who just launched onsite centers within the past few months, hope for similar results, while the City of Kissimmee is counting the days until their first center opens in April.

Prior to posing for a team photo and pictures with smiling clients and vendors, Ray Tomlinson, president of Crowne Consulting Group gave the following statement: “We are thrilled to hear so much positive feedback from clients who are decreasing healthcare costs and improving quality of care for their employees. The fact that more centers are opening soon means that Florida is on the leading edge of employer-driven healthcare reform. Additionally, this idea of clients sharing access in neighboring areas could extend greater convenience for employees while increasing access to affordable care.”

About Crowne Consulting Group, Inc:Crowne Consulting Group, Inc., founded in 1986, consults and provides administrative oversight services for onsite health and wellness centers to employers and is a related company with The Crowne Group, an employee benefits consulting firm, specializing in employer solutions and personal lines of insurance. Crowne’s experts have a cumulative 100 years of experience in serving public sector employers such as school boards, city and county government, as well as private organizations. The firm’s mission is to bring innovative solutions that meet the fiscal responsibility of employers and maximizes investments. Solutions for consumer-driven plans include health reimbursement arrangements, self-funded plans, onsite health and wellness centers, as well as risk management and human resources consulting.

Call 407-654-5414 to learn more about corporations, school districts, and government agencies implementing on-site health and wellness centers for their employees.